Kid Icarus: Hell in Equestria

The late-morning sun beamed through the clear blue sky, casting light over the entire world, but onto one structure in-particular. A vast temple, constructed purely of white marble, stood out juxtaposed to everything surrounding it. A beam of blue light cascaded down from a heavens even higher than this mount, producing from it a young, winged, man, clothed in a simple white tunic, an olive branch encircled his head, helping hold his mop of brown hair in place.

"Always good to come home," the man said as he made his way toward the temple entrance through a circular courtyard. It didn't take him long to reach the main room of the temple, in which stood a towering statue, made of the same marble as the rest of the building, but accentuated with areas of gold and other precious materials, "I'm here Lady Palutena," the man's voice echoed through the halls of the temple, awaiting a reply, which he didn't have to wait long for.

"Good to see you again, Pit," a woman's voice greeted him, seemingly coming from the statue, "it's been awhile since you've been in my temple."

"Well, you know, I aim to please."

A bright, sparkling light emanated from the statue. The man did not flinch or even cover his eyes, as he was used to this display. In a matter of moments, a woman stood before him. Lady Palutena, the Goddess of Light. She wore a flowing, strapless, white dress, slit up the left side to allow for easier walking, ornamented with a swath of multi-colored silk held in place with a large red brooch on her left hip. Around her neck hung a large golden medallion which resembled the sun and its rays, signifying her stature. On her head sat a bronze wreath, like a crown atop her calf-length locks of teal hair. In her right hand, she held a blue staff, the same length as her height, which was topped by a gold head which bore a striking resemblance to the Capricorn Zodiac symbol. A blue sphere magically floated just above the head.

"I have brought you here for a very important mission," the goddess said, walking, no, gliding, toward Pit, "There is a very clear and present danger that we must rid the world from."

"Awesome," Pit exclaimed, always excited about a fight, "so who are we fighting? What are they doing? Where are you sending me first?" Palutena smiled and chuckled at his reaction.

"Those two last questions are a bit...complicated," she said with some slight hesitation, "but the first one I can answer for you now. Hades has escaped from the Ethereal Plane."

"What," Pit exclaimed again, this time gasping in shock, "When? How?" Palutena raised her hands, trying to calm him down.

"I'm afraid I don't exactly know how he did it," she sighed, "but it was only twenty-four hours ago, we have plenty of time to stop whatever it is he has planned." This statement had the effect of calming Pit, allowing him to breathe a little easier.

"OK, so how do we start?"

"Come with me," Palutena beckoned, motioning for Pit to walk with her deeper into the temple.

The two soon made it to a smaller room in the temple in which sat nothing but a large black granite table. Palutena moved her hands over the table, which made an image appear.

"You remember defeating Hades, of course," Palutena began, as the magic table showed a picture of Pit using a giant mechanical suit of armor to attack Hades, "After he went down, his soul, what little there was, was sent to the Ethereal Plane, a sort of limbo where we gods could keep an eye on him."

"But he got out anyhow," Pit almost whispered, "what could he be up to?"

"Fortunately, I have been able to trace Hades' godly power. He's been tracked here," Palutena waved her hands again, which brought up a map. A map of a place that was unfamiliar to Pit. It looked like a very large island, with moutains, rivers, lakes, and many cities and towns.

"Where is this place," Pit asked in slight awe of the land.

"This is Equestria."

"How do we get there," Pit looked up at last.

"It's going to be a tough trip," Palutena sighed, "you see, Equestria is not in this world. It is in a different dimension entirely. My theory is that after Hades realized he couldn't reach the physical plane in this world, he figured out how to jump dimensions to someplace where he could."

"So what are we waiting for," Pit cried, almost running for the door on instinct.

"No need to be quite so hasty," Palutena responded, smiling, "Fortunately, I've already done all the research I could about this world, and I know exactly who we need to go to first."

*--*--*--*--*

Twenty-Four Hours Earlier

Two bright green eyes peered out into the darkness, just as they did every day, just as they had every day since their exile to this black place. And the longer they peered, the longer the woman behind those eyes had to sit there and stew and think about her defeat, the more vile and black her heart became. But she still needed a plan. Somehow, she needed a better plan than her last one, one that brought even the Princess herself to her knees. So close, but yet, so far.

"My, my, my, a little troubled are we," a dark voice asked from the shadows. The woman was stunned. It had been so long since she had heard another voice, "Well don't just sit there and wallow. Please, enlighten me."

The woman narrowed her eyes, the thin, black horn coming from her head emitting a dull green glow. She searched for the source of the voice, but nobody seemed to be around. The woman shook her head and sighed, content to believe that she was just imagining things. The glow from her horn began to fade.

"Now hold on there, missy," the voice spoke again, this time with a tad bit of annoyance, "I know what it's like to sit in the dark too. A little light never hurt anybody." The woman strengthened the glow again.

"If you are really there," the woman said, more than a touch of bitterness in her voice, "then make yourself be seen."

A gust of cold air rushed over the woman for a moment. She saw a dark, faint, ball of gas swirl infront of her face. Within moments, something materialized. A head, a man's head to be precise, just floating in the ether. The head smiled at her with a big grin, showing off a nice set of teeth.

"Happy now," the head asked. The woman he addressed narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, having never seen anything like this before.

"Who, or rather, what, are you?"

"My name is Hades," the head answered, tossing to the left a bit to get some of his dark black hair out of his face, "and where I come from, they know me as the Lord of the Underworld." The woman smiled and chuckled.

"Guess that means I really am in Hell," she laughed at her witty little wordplay. Hades was not amused.

"I am not from your world," he tried to explain, "I am from another dimension entirely. You see, I was the victim of terrible treason brought against me by my fellow immortals. So now, I am only a soul, a shadow, a bodyless vapor. I have come to this world looking for a body, a physical form, that I may take so that I can avenge my...not death...uh, disembodiment."

"Well since you were so kind as to answer my question, I'll tell you who I am. I am Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the Changlings, beings who can change their physical form into anything they desire, for awhile anyway. I am here in this dark exile for trying to drain all the love and harmony out of Equestria."

"It seems I've come across the perfect person to help me, then," Hades smiled, his red eyes growing in size, "Tell you what, I'll scratch your back, if you scratch mine. You help me return to a physical form, and before I leave for my world, I'll help you take over yours. Do we have a deal?" Chrysalis turned this over in her head, wondering if she could trust the stranger, and whether or not he could succeed where she had failed.

"We have a deal," she said, looking over and magically picking up one of her Changling underlings off the ground, "I'll fuse your soul with this body, that should do the trick." Hades was a little hesitant.

"I'm the Lord of the Underworld, you know, or did I forget to mention that? My might and power would not be very appreciated inside such a little body." Chrysalis groaned.

"My magic can get you back to a physical form, how you looked before. A reasonable size, of course. I'm sure in your world, you're a giant."

"I can be whatever size I want, or whatever size you need," Hades leered. Chrysalis didn't think too long about what he said.

"OK, in you go," Chrysalis' horn glowing much brighter than before, as she magically swirled Hades' soul into the Changlings body. In a matter of moments, the magic ended and Hades stood before her in the dark, fully clothed, just as he had been when he was struck down.

"Not too shabby," he remarked, looking himself over to make sure he was all there, "now I will help you with your little problem."

"Just as we agreed," Chrysalis stood and reached out her black hand.

"I believe this is the beginnings of a most fruitful partnership," Hades smiled as he took Chrysalis' hand in his own and shook it.